Join in!

Belfast Community Gospel Choir - to quote the lyrics, Oh What A Night! On the recommendation of my sister I bought a ticket but was unprepared for how much I would enjoy myself.

The charisma of a flamboyant choir mistress bursting with enthusiasm was a catalyst, igniting the entire room with an infectious spirit of laughter, song and joy. The choir, full of colour and movement, exuded a relaxed yet powerful confidence and energy. The room resounded with gospel and soul music that grabbed you by the hand, yanked you out of your chair and onto your feet. There were some in the audience who found themselves quite literally yanked out of their seat by the fearless choir director much to our amusement.

I smiled, sang, laughed, clapped and swayed until my face hurt, until my throat croaked, until my hands stung.

At one point in the evening, my sister who had been sitting, or rather dancing beside me was elsewhere. I took a moment to sit back, catch my breath, relax and watch proceedings from the back row. Suddenly I felt a nudge on my arm, causing me to glance to my right. Across my sister’s empty seat, an elderly gentleman, who if he was a day less than eighty I’d be very surprised, was gesturing to me. Come on, he was saying, clap! Join in! I laughed out loud in surprise. Here was this old man, with a grin on his face, enjoying himself immensely as he clapped and jigged to the music, telling me to get on my feet and party! Regardless of the fact that he had needed to lean on someone’s arm to get to his seat in the first place, there he was twice my age and telling me not to stop. Keep dancing! Clap with me!

Just down the aisle a little girl about five years old, ran up and down, clapping out of time and unselfconsciously did her own little dance. There was I between the two thinking how appropriate it was that we were in a church. The very old, the very young and everyone in between, wearing a ‘mantle of praise’ (Isaiah 61:3). All together under one roof breathing an atmosphere that energised your whole being, made you feel alive, made you at least begin to set aside inhibition and reserve to express joy.

Is church not the best place to have someone beside you to give you a nudge and say, ‘Do you feel it?’ A place where the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit fills you up to overflowing so that you can’t help but encourage others to sing with you. It doesn’t even matter that you don’t know one another’s name and that there may be decades between your birthdays. Who is next to you? Whose arm can you nudge? Are we not anointed by the Lord as Isaiah was to bring gladness, joy and praise to those around us?

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us!